Holidays
by Akino K
Summary: Over the years, the mabudachi trio spends their holidays together. Chapter 3: 3 years after chapter 2, an award ceremony. AyaTori, Part 3 of 4
1. At the lake house

Author: Akito no K-chan

Title: Holidays – At the lake house

Disclaimer: We are all glad that Furuba isn't mine, I assure you. Natsuki Takaya shall get the honour.

Summary: The trio spends the summer holidays of their second high-school year at the Sôma lake house. Someone said, they wanted to relax, but why then is Hatori studying all the time? Tori-kun, you're no fun!

Warnings: none

Pairings: not yet… (Ayame + Hatori)

Note: This is going to be a four chapter story, but I'll probably be updating really slow. I've got the last three chapter planned, though, so be sure that I _will_ finish. It's just going to take its time.

* * *

Holidays – At the lake house

School was over for the summer. What better to do than to enjoy your life at the lake? Especially if it was your family's… An infamous trio seemed to think the same.

Well, as a matter of fact, only two thirds of the infamous trio were thinking that way, the last one would rather have stayed at home to study – something boring, the others were sure.

"Oi, Ha-kun, why don't you come with us? It's hot outside and it's stuffy in here. Why did you even come to the lake house if you never _wanted_ to go swimming?" a teenage boy shouted from the door of the room his conscientious comrade used as a study. He was rather tall, with short black hair and playful grey-blue eyes. Right now he looked quite reproachful.

The only other boy in the room, the one who had just been called 'Ha-kun', turned around on his chair by the window, looking annoyed. When standing this guy would be a little bit taller than his friend, but – in exchange, one might say – he was pretty skinny. His short black hair was parted in his forehead so that most of it ended just above his left eye, while the space over the right one was empty. On the contrary to his stern look these amethyst orbs held an amused shine as he watched his friend.

"It was _you_ who dragged me here, if you do not remember that fact, Shigure," he stated and Shigure winced, now looking hurt.

"Sôma Hatori, you are such a mean person!"

"Yes, sure." Hatori had already continued with his studies and obviously wasn't paying attention anymore. Shigure pouted, but, of course, he could not see it. Nonetheless – "Stop being so childish, Shigure! You _are_ seventeen. You behave like a five year old." Shigure gasped.

"Did I say _mean_? Excuse me, I meant _nasty_!"

"Shigure…" Dangerously slow Hatori turned around again. "I give you one chance, and I mean _only_ one. Get out _now_, before you regret it."

"Or what? You chase me? To the lake or what? You _do_ know that I'm faster than you, do you?"

"That's not about being fast. Get out, Shigure, now!"

"No." The boy crossed his arms and leant against the doorframe, watching Hatori with his most intense gaze. "I don't think I'll move, Ha-kun. I'll be standing here and watching you-"

"Alright, do if you must," Hatori shrugged and was about to turn back a second time, when-

"And I'll be _singing_." A malicious sneer flitted over his lips when he started in a dreadful off-key voice, so loud that it was audible even outside. Hatori yelped and tried to cover his ears with his hands, then shouted at Shigure to stop. Another sneer fastened itself on the youth's face, staying a little bit longer this time than the first one, before it turned into a lovely smile, and he held out his hand for Hatori. "Coming, Ha-kun?"

The addressed heaved a sigh and stood up, walking over to him. "_Is_ there the possibility that – just maybe – I don't _want_ to come to the lake?" he hissed in Shigure's face. The smaller boy didn't back away, although it was a little bit frightening to have Hatori stare you down, even if he _was_ one of your two best friends.

"I don't believe, you would have come with us from the start, if you didn't want to _be_ here, you know." Hatori glowered at him, beating his fist against the wall, mere inches away from his friend's shoulder. Shigure arched an eyebrow at him questioningly; what was probably wrong with the ever so correct teenager? He held the gaze till Hatori turned away wordless, picking up a book from his desk and walking straight out of the room, not giving him a second glance.

Shigure exhaled a breath he didn't remember holding. Hatori _was_ scary, when he was angry, and right now he had only just avoided anger. He shifted, looked at the spot where his friend had hit the wooden wall, and swallowed; it could just as well have been him and _that_ would have been quite painful. A smirk lit up his features. So, part one of his little plan had succeeded, good. There was, however, much more to happen and he did not want to miss the fun.

In an unusual thoughtful manner, he picked up some swim trunks from the bag that contained all of Hatori's clothes and then careful, as not to provoke any more anger, he slid out of the house and followed his friend down the short path to the lake.

* * *

Humming softly, a young teenager brushed his hair, enjoying the way the comb slid trough the silken waves that fell halfway down his back. He sat in the shadow of one great tree, only wearing a pair of dark ocean-blue swim trunks that contradicted his porcelain white skin.

At the soft sound of footsteps nearing him, he looked up, jumping to his feet in an instant and running towards the tall boy, literally leaping at him, pulling him to his former place.

"You've finally come! Tori-kun finally came down to the lake! I didn't think you'd come anymore at all, at least not today!" The boy forced him to sit down. "Tori-kun, why didn't you come earlier?"

Hatori gave him a rather annoyed look, which he decided to ignore. "Shigure just send me here," he stated coolly, looking irritated and amused at the same time. "I don't have time for your laziness, Ayame, I should be studying." He held up his book and Ayame lowered his head. "Later, maybe, but I really ought to read now." The white haired teen smiled at him, though his golden eyes kept a rather dull kind of shine.

Another boy came down the exact same way Hatori had used only a minute earlier and, again, Ayame jumped up and ran towards him, this time not dragging him into the shadow, but calmly walking by his side. As calmly as he could walk, anyway, skipping along the path. And, even worse, he was asking questions in such a speed that Shigure was unable to respond at first.

"So, why did you take so long? Didn't he want to come? And why didn't you come down here _together_? Did you have a row? Why don't you _say_ anything?" Shigure weakly smiled at him, shaking his head, but then realized his chance to answer and leaped onto it, before Ayame would see it, too, and use the empty space himself.

"He insisted to stay in his room to study, so I had to lure him into coming with me. I don't think he's too fond of having to associate with us instead of studying all the time. And then he – he just passed _by_ me-" He sobbed, his voice going high-pitched. "He just _ignored_ me… He was being so _cruel_ again, believe me: I could barely hold the tears back, so he would not see how much he had _hurt_ me." Pretty much shouting by now, so Hatori would be unable to block it out, Shigure sat down next to him. The taller boy frowned deeply, pretending to read, although his eyes had stopped moving.

"Oh… Gure-kun, how _could_ he? That's unforgivable!" Ayame shrieked, feigning a breakdown. Right now, Hatori really wouldn't have given a damn, if only the both of them had stopped shouting.

"Won't you please shut up, guys?" he tried in a vain attempt to still the noise. It didn't work, Shigure only laughed out loud and the last boy grinned, patting him on his dark hair.

"Maybe you won't be so unnerved anymore, if only you would go to the lake with us? Sittin' here all the time surely ain't much of a funny holiday, is it?" Hatori saw his last chances of escape slowly slipping from his fingertips and tried to grab them. He put on his best "I'm so sorry, but I really don't have time for it" – mask. It wouldn't work; Ayame's grin only broadened as he tugged at his sleeve. "Come on, there's no time to waste! There aren't enough holidays, anyway, so let's use those we've got!"

Hatori sighed and closed his book. He had lost and he would not argue about it. He _had_ lost, yes, this time. "Alright. I'm coming with you, but only now."

His silver-haired friend jumped up and hugged Shigure, shrieking with joy: "He's coming, coming! Did you hear it, Gure-san? He's coming to lake with us! We'll be swimming then, won't we?"

"Get a grip on yourself, A-Ya," Hatori scowled lightly. The childlike behaviour of his young friend had gotten trough to him once again, leaving him melting away in some very strange feeling. "Shigure, may I get my trunks back? Thank you." With those words he practically ripped them from Shigure's hands, then turned his back on the two of them and walked away a few meters into the bushes, before changing. Friends or not, they still were somewhat strange when it came to undressing in front of each other. They had the habit of checking you out while you did so, which Hatori found rather distracting, partly even because he wished he'd have the guts to do it himself.

* * *

"Why does he always have to leave before changing his clothes, Gure-kun? It didn't matter to him some years ago, either."

Shigure sighed heavily, shaking his head at Ayame's still absolutely innocent behaviour. Hopefully, he would become a little more mature soon; He wanted to be able to _say some things_ without having the feeling of needing to explain everything in detail. And he wanted someone to accompany him when he played with Ha-kun, which was almost as important, because Sôma Hatori was so much fun to flatter.

"Hm? Is something the matter, Gure-kun?"

"Nah… Nothing at all. Aya, why don't we just go right now? Ha-kun will catch up in a matter of seconds." Luckily, the younger one nodded, so he didn't have to shove him away to give Hatori some of his much needed privacy. Maybe, though, he should make sure to get paid for his responsibility later…

* * *

Hatori sighed, almost out of breath after holding said one for nearly a minute. Thank goodness, they had finally left, allowing him to undress slowly.

What was wrong with him, anyway? He really had never cared till about two years ago. Now, though he couldn't bring himself to even take off his shirt in front of them. Was puberty hitting in at last? He didn't think so; they said it started when you had your first 'wet dream', which had been a rather long time ago.

He took on his black swim trunks and gathered his clothes, taking them down to the lake with him, wandering along the path in quiet peace.

The sun shone brightly from above. It was the first time he noticed it, although it was obvious. After all, it _was_ May. Hopefully he wouldn't burn his skin out here!

"Oi, there he is! Tori-kun, come on! The water's just perfect!" Ayame waved at him from the middle of the lake. The other boy was right behind him, attempting to jump on him from behind, maybe to get him underwater. Hatori didn't even _try_ to fight the smile, as he laid his clothes down onto a small rock and watched Shigure fulfilling his plan. Such children they were. "Ahh! What are you-?"

"No use fighting, A-Ya! I'm going to drown you!"

The water was as cold as ice against his ankles, when Hatori entered it, sending shivers down his spine. He walked in until it was waist high, stopping to get used to the cold that stung through the sensitive skin of his lower body and legs. Ice-cold water hit him right in the face and all over his upper body. He yelped, almost loosing his balance and toppling over backwards. Ayame and Shigure's shrill laughter vibrated in his ears.

"Cautious or you'll hurt yourself, Tori-kun!" the silver haired teen called out for him. "And why are you still not in the water with us? Standing in it when it's only up to your waist doesn't count, you know."

"Shut up, Aya. Really, how can you call this perfect? It's way too cold."

"You have to get used to it, then it's just fine, Ha-kun." Shigure surfaced, giving Ayame a hurt look. "And you did _not_ have to drown _me_, A-Ya." The so addressed one only stuck out his tongue.

Hatori took some more steps, squeezing his eyes shut. He despised cold water, but this was almost _too_ much. His head and shoulders seemed hot against the rest of his body, and once more he shivered violently. He would not stay in here for long, so much for this. "Come on, Tori-kun, we want to swim to that island over there! It's no fun, when you don't join in."

He forced a smile onto his lips, deciding to play along for a while and then make his escape. "Right. So, let's get going, huh?" Ayame only watched him without saying a word. Those deep golden eyes shone with something, Hatori couldn't quite figure out, almost as if he was sad about the almost-refusal of his friend. "Something wrong, Aya?"

"Wha-? No, really!" he laughed, putting the usual happy-go-lucky mask back on. "I was just wondering 'bout something. You think too much, Tori-kun, you know?"

"What are you talking about? I thought we were going to swim, so why are you only talking? I'm bored! Bored, bored, bored!" Shigure let himself fall backwards, still complaining.

'How stupid can you be?' Hatori sighed heavily.

"Well, Aya, come on. He'll only try to drown someone again, if he doesn't get what he wants." Laughing out loud, Ayame followed him.

The water indeed seemed to become warmer, the further they swam out into the lake and by the time about half of the way to the small island was done, it was bearable enough even for Hatori. He was still shivering nonetheless, when they finally reached it.

* * *

"Now, really, that was great! I feel like doing that right away again!" Ayame stretched his arms at those words, ignoring the unbelieving looks he got from his comrades, and walked a bit away from the water, into the shadow of one big tree, that covered about half of the island. "Is something wrong with you? Why are you standing around like that?"

"Nothing, Aya", Hatori answered him, shaking his head. "Nothing."

The other boy just nodded and so did Ayame, although he felt somewhat suspicious about how true their answers possibly were. They _were_ acting strange, after all.

"So come on, sit down. And tell me what we are going to do, now that we are here."

"Warming up." Hatori fell down into the grass next to him, head bowed. He was trembling slightly, Ayame noticed. "Don't _you_ feel cold at all? I would have thought you'd have transformed by now."

"Yeah. I won't move for the next hour, if you allow, A-Ya", Shigure added and lay down beside them. Ayame tilted his head to one side. Why were they so exhausted from just a little swimming? If it weren't hard for him – the incarnation of the snake – then why would it be for the dragon and the dog?

"Alright then, we'll have a rest now, but we _will_ do something later, no matter what!" With this decided, Ayame, too, sank down, allowing the three of them a bit of silence.

It did not last long, at least not for him; after about five minutes he grew restless, fidgeting around. Of course, it was a nice thing to watch both his friends slumber. Shigure looked more youthful than ever, and Hatori's face held an expression of absolute peace. But that didn't change that he had nothing to do!

"That's boring…" he mumbled, "So boring… Can't anybody please do something now?" The wind was getting a bit stronger, so that the heat was not so bad anymore. Goose bumps travelled along Hatori's pale chest and he frowned. "Are you cold, my friend?" Ayame whispered, but of course, the other boy didn't hear him. "We should have brought some blankets here; you'll only fetch a cold in the end."

"Who are you talking with, A-Ya? He's asleep." Ayame looked up, only to see that Shigure had sat up, watching him with a strange look. He looked back towards his other friend.

"He's cold, I believe. Shame, we didn't bring anything with us to warm him up."

"Hmph… Why would we; no one could have known, he would be cold. And by the way, there actually _is_ a way to warm him, there always is." Ayame cocked his head, wondering what Shigure would suggest, but not quite prepared for what it turned out to be. "You could just hold him, couldn't you?"

He felt his face go hot and a lump knotting in the pit of his stomach. Hold him? _Hold_ him? _Him_? Had the dog finally lost it, deciding that thinking was something the others should struggle with and that it was not necessary for him? "Hold him? You mean, like in… _Hug_ him?" With the words said, he felt even more nauseated.

"Sure. Why wouldn't you? He's your friend, after all. One of your two best friends, shouldn't you be proud of doing something useful for him?" Shigure smiled knowingly, but something had just hit Ayame's mind.

Did that mean that he had never done something useful for Hatori before? Of course, he had proven quite useless at many occasions, just like when he had to fulfil his duties as student council president, but instead his friend had to do all the work, while he got the honours. But there had been times, when he could help Hatori. He – just couldn't remember them right now.

"Is something wrong, A-Ya?" Shigure sounded concerned and only then Ayame realised that he was staring off into space, not listening at all to what his friend had seemingly said to him. He shook his head.

"No, I'm alright, Gure-kun, nothing to worry about" he said in a low voice.

"Well, then… But maybe we should wake Ha-kun, if you're not going to hold him." Ayame felt his blood go to his head and Shigure gave a sly smile at his distress. "There really is no need for him to catch a cold, ne?"

"R- right. We'll just wake him. Oi… Oi, Tori-kun!" Ayame shouted in his friend's ear, making him frown. "Tori-kun, it's time to wake up! If you keep lying here you're gonna catch a cold or burn your skin."

"Hmmm… Shut up, Aya…" He blinked, laughing out loud at the next moment. "You're so loud…"

"Right, Tori-kun. And now get up and we're gonna swim back again."

"No, not now. I'm don't want to swim now" the older boy complained, having both Shigure and Ayame roaring with laughter. Instead of reacting, however, he only rolled to the other side. "Be quiet!" Ayame felt himself shake with laughter, tears starting to stream out of his eyes while he could hardly breathe anymore. It took him almost a minute to calm down again.

"But, Tori-kun has to get up now. If you don't want to swim back, you at least have to get into the shadow, unless you want to get sunburn." His friend groaned and forced himself to stand up, walking over into the shadow of the one great tree on this little island, where he flung down again, giving the both of them a really annoyed look. Shigure and Ayame looked at each other with a twinkle in their eyes.

"Such a stubborn child", Shigure said softly, so that Hatori himself could not hear him. "Wanting to rest, but what is he doing, anyway? Nothing but studying! How exhausting could that be, I ask you?" The last two sentences he shouted out at this very seahorse, that Ayame saw frown to the words.

"Stop teasing him, Gure-kun. I don't want to be the one to stand his moods." The other boy whined, but didn't object the instruction. "I know…", Ayame mumbled, "It's fun to tease him, but in the end he will only get angry at us, which is much more uncomfortable than having to stay silent for some time, don't you agree?"

"Could you _please_ stop talking about me as if I wasn't there?"

"Sorry, Tori-kun."

They sat in silence for another fifteen minutes, before it grew too unbearable for both the dog- and the snake-boy. Ayame shivered in the heat, wishing for some cool drink and – most of all – a place in the wonderfully air-conditioned lake-house. He shifted uncomfortably, stood up and walked over to his dozing friend. Hatori opened his eyes and looked up at him, an innocent, but sleepy image.

"Would you come back to the house with us now, Tori-kun? I believe that if you don't, you'll have to swim back on your own later." The older boy nodded and sat up slowly.

"What, you got him to move? How did you manage that?"

* * *

With a tired sigh, Hatori let himself fall onto the couch in their declared living room, where they would spend the time, that was still unoccupied by their own activities, together. He was feeling dizzied and warm from the sun, the suspicion dawning that he had already been out there for too long.

Beside him, Ayame was rambling on about whatever just interested him enough to tell them. It could be about everything, Hatori was sure. He leant back, closing his eyes and hoping that this would lead to his friends showing sympathy with him.

Shigure picked it up, but not in the way, he had wanted him to. "What's wrong, Ha-kun, are we too loud?" Why couldn't this guy just shut up and at least allow Ayame to worry enough as to shut up, too? "Oh, I know!" Hatori winced. "I know something to brighten up your mood: Let's go to the town tonight!"

Exasperated, Hatori shook his head. This could not really be true, could it? This guy would drive him insane one day…


	2. An evening outside

Author: Akito no K-chan

Title: Holidays – An evening outside

Disclaimer: Luckily, Fruits Basket is Natsuki Takaya's. I could never reach that level.

Summary: Ayame's birthday is approaching, but Hatori, having started university some time ago, doesn't pay the attention his friend wants. What are you up to, A-Ya?

Warnings: very slight shonen-ai

Pairings: still none, but we're getting closer… (Ayame + Hatori)

Note: I'M SORRY! No, honestly… Not updated in three months… And the worst thing is that I haven't even finished the next one yet. But I'll be faster this time, trust me.

Who can tell me, what the present could have been?

-.-.-.-.-

Holidays – An evening outside

"He's doing it again, Gure-kun!" A door crashed and footsteps hurried through the room. Shigure looked up at his silver-haired friend in slight disinterest. Ayame was flushed and seemingly out of breathe, as if he had run the way. "He is doing it again, I say!"

"I've heard that", Shigure replied in a distant voice. "Two questions: Who and what?"

Ayame was eager to answer: "Hatori. He is studying again!"

A smile tugged at Shigure's lips, as he looked his friend up and down. "You know, he's started university by now. He'll fail his tests if he's not studying." Not as us two, he added in his thoughts, who we are free to do whatever we want.

"I know, I know, Gure-kun." Ayame rolled his eyes. "It's all about exams anymore. He'll die if there is a day he cannot study." He sighed and shook his head. "I know; being ambitious is a good treat. But that is no excuse for ignoring his best friends!"

"A-Ya…" Shigure sighed, "A-Ya-kun, how long does the trio exist, think! Should be at least fifteen years, right? You should know him by now. Everything is about knowledge with him, it's always been."

Ayame sat down on his bed, his head hung low. "Oh, I _do_ understand, Gure-kun, but it's not fair. He should not ignore me like this."

Putting his pen down, Shigure stood up and walked over to where his friend sat, getting comfortable on the soft sheet. "Move over, A-Ya-kun!" He sat down, too, and pulled the smaller man in a tight hug. "You know him, know what he's like. There's no way to change Sôma Hatori."

"Right, Gure-kun."

"I mean, except if you want to drug him into being a bit less uptight. " In his arms, Ayame went stiff. Shigure cocked an eyebrow, but he couldn't fight the smile down. "But, of course, we'd never do something so dishonouring, am I right, Ayame?"

"Sure. Absolutely right." But the boy was restless now, as the idea was setting in his mind. "Co you know how much Hatori can drink, before he looses control?"

That sounds rather serious, Shigure thought. "Not much. What are you thinking about?"

"Well, my friend… I don't think that he's too good at keeping control. When he is offered sake, do you think he'll ignore the chance? Even on his best friend's birthday?"

"No, probably not, at least when this friend is drinking, himself." Ayame smiled in satisfaction.

"Guess, I'll enjoy my birthday this year. Legal drinking and everything." Shigure grinned inwardly, but, of course, he would not show his glee. "We'd better start preparing it soon."

-.-.-.-.-

Two weeks after the white-haired young man had so hurtfully been thrown out of is best friend's room, his plan had been worked out in detail. It would be this very evening – his birthday – it would be fulfilled, and this made him quiver in anticipation.

Shigure seemed to be rather annoyed by his restlessness after these two weeks, but he wouldn't say anything about it. 'Hatori deserves it', Ayame had told him, 'for what he's done.' And strangely enough, the man cursed with the spirit of the dog would not argue about this.

"Yes. Yes, thank you." Sighing, Ayame hung up and turned around to his currently reading friend. "Oh, Gure-kun, you'll get just like him one day", he whined. "Lay that book aside!" Shigure smiled softly, but shut the book and put it down on the table. "Good… Now we've only got to get it in _his_ head, that he'll come with us. Any ideas?"

Shigure's smile broadened. "Yes, indeed." Slowly, he stood up and crossed the small path to Ayame, putting an arm around his shoulders. "You, too. He won't want to, right, A-Ya?" He nodded. "So we have to find something he'll give up his studying for – something he'll _have_ to give it up for."

"Wha- Oh…! Got it. But wouldn't that let us seem a bit irresponsible, dear Gure-kun?"

"Why… Would it, really?" Shigure shifted his arms around his friend's body and tugged him against his chest. "But then… do we actually care about what we seem to be?"

"No, we don't…", Ayame whispered in his ear. "But Tori-kun does and – he doesn't like us getting in trouble. Especially when he's included, too." He really wasn't sure if he wanted Hatori to get into trouble. "He probably won't care to come with us, don't you think so?"

"Hmm… No, I don't." Ayame gave him a questioning look. "I believe that to keep the two of us out of trouble, he'd go through hell. Hatori-kun is not a cold-hearted person, at least not totally."

"I hope so…" Freeing himself of Shigure's hold, Ayame stepped back from him, now grinning broadly. "Let's go then!"

Dragging his friend outside, the silver-haired man led the way to the young soon-to-be-doctor, there not even bothering with knocking.

"Tori-kun! You home?", he shouted throughout the entrance hall. "Tori-kun? Come here and give me your congratulations!" Shigure snorted beside him and Ayame turned around, brow drawn up. "What is that? Are you laughing at me, Sôma Shigure?", he asked in an extremely hurt manner.

"Never, Aya-dearest. You know, I'd never do something like that."

Pleased, Ayame smiled and opened his mouth to answer, when a voice behind his back caught his attention. "Well, my congratulations, Ayame."

-.-.-.-.-

Silver hair swung through the air in a wide arc, as Ayame turned around, skipped the short space between them and fell around Hatori as though he wanted to suffocate him.

"Oi, Tori-kun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Shigure moaned softly as Hatori, while being hugged even tighter, patted the smaller man's back.

"That's enough, Ayame", Shigure said. "Leave him some space to breathe!" The arms slowly loosened their grip around Hatori's back and he sighed quietly. "There still was something you wanted to ask, right?"

"Oh, right!" Ayame exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands like a child, and Hatori frowned. "Where's my present?"

"Ayame…!", Shigure groaned, but Hatori, although this comment made him suspicious, only nodded and waved his two friends to follow him into the living room.

"You two wait here", he ordered. Ayame squealed in excitement and turned around towards Shigure, beaming at him.

"Oh, isn't he great, Gure-kun? He's great, right?"

"Sure, A-Ya…", Shigure sighed as Hatori walked away. He didn't really want to eavesdrop, but couldn't suppress the interest, so he let the door open. "But you really wanted to ask him something, right?" He frowned. Shigure was up to something, Hatori was sure, but what could it be? "So why don't you-?" When Hatori stepped in, he quietened for an instant. "Oi!", he then cried. "Ha-kun! You're back already!"

"Yes, I am." Pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning against, Hatori fixed his eyes on Ayame. "Your present."

Cheeks flushed, the young man took the package wrapped in dark blue and decorated with a silver ribbon. "What's inside?", he asked and Hatori chuckled.

"Well, why don't you open it and look, Ayame?" He swallowed and tugged at the string. The flush deepened on his cheeks as soon as he got the first glance on his present.

"T-" He cleared his throat. "Tori-kun, that's…"

"Wow." Shigure leant over his shoulder. "That must have been expensive. And I only got a pen?"

"Yours wasn't all that cheap, either", Hatori answered in a bored voice. "Aya? You alright?" Cautiously, he waved his hand in front of his friend's eyes. Ayame snapped out of his daze and looked around with searching eyes.

"Thank you, Tori-kun. Thank you so much." He hugged him tight.

"Hey, alright."

"Really. But, A-Ya, there still is something you wanted to ask, right?" Shigure's sing-song voice teased Ayame and urged Hatori to shift, to take Ayame's hands in his own and push him back a little.

"Is that so?", Hatori asked and Ayame tried to avoid his eyes without much success. "What were you two talking about, anyway?"

"Um… We- I… We were planning to go out today…"

"Seeing that it's a special day", Shigure added to Hatori's questioning look.

"Uh, right. We thought we might go to some club. Do you want to come with us?" Shigure made a face and growled loudly. Hatori's face darkened. "I- I mean…"

"You know, I actually should be studying." Ayame looked aside. "I've got my exams in two weeks. I really mustn't loose any studying time." He could see Ayame swallowing heavily.

"But Tori-kun is one of the best students of his year, right?", he tried again. "Surely, he…"

Hatori shifted his weight in discomfort. "A-Ya, I-"

-.-.-.-.-

"Come!" Shigure's hand closed around his shoulder and Ayame was dragged backwards. "We'll go alone, then. The clubs are too good to miss. Did you hear of the recently opened one in Shinjuku, yet?" Ayame's answer was a shocked gaze, while Hatori looked up in interest.

The young man stepped forward and pulled Ayame out of his friend's arms. "No", he whispered. Shigure smiled broadly.

"But of course. It's his birthday, after all, and we have to spend time together – and since you don't want to come with us, I'll take him somewhere myself." Ayame stared at him, since the tight hold around his upper body didn't allow him to turn around towards Hatori. At Shigure's cocked head, he guessed that the other one was speechless.

"No, you won't. I'll come with you", he said in a voice that made it obvious that he didn't really like the idea that much, but could not see another way, either. The man in front of them smiled brightly, seeing his plan fulfilled without much hard work.

"Alright, Ha-kun!", he exclaimed and clapped his hands once. "We'll get you at six sharp, ne, A-Ya-kun?" Ayame nodded, feeling slightly dizzied by his friend's rapid actions. Shigure freed him of Hatori's hold and practically dragged him out. "See you later, Ha-kun!"

The door closed with a loud thud, leaving Ayame rather overwhelmed. "You really forced him, didn't you?" Shigure chuckled.

"When it's about A-Ya, Ha-kun will do everything to protect him. That's his greatest weakness." He was glad to already have turned away from Shigure, so that his blush was unseen. Breathing deeply, he forced the bright red flush off his cheeks. "Now, come. If you want to act according to the plan, you'll have to dress up. He must feel that when he leaves you for five minutes, something tragic will happen." Ayame nodded and followed him back to his house. "Besides, I'm hungry. Do you want anything in particular?"

-.-.-.-.-

"Are you really sure that this is the club you want to go to?", Hatori asked. He was looking up at the letters above the door he and his friends were standing in front of. "The Bloody Rainbow" it said and he could not fight off the discomfort that came over him the instant he read it.

"Yeah, why not? Anything against it?" Shigure gave him a short hug, while Hatori whimpered on the inside. This was not what he had wanted to achieve with him accompanying his two best friends. Why couldn't they just give up on this stupid idea and go somewhere else?

"But this is… You _know_ what kind of club this is, don't you, Shigure?"

"Yes, I do." The teen beamed. "And it is the perfect place to celebrate A-Ya's birthday!" He laughed out loud and in no matter of time, Ayame joined in. Hatori sighed and shook his head, but it seemed that there was no way to escape, anymore. They should get this done now.

"Alright, let's go in, then", he said and stepped forward, shivering at the dog-man's snickering. What were they up to?

Inside the club, the atmosphere was hardly better than he had expected. It indeed _was_ hot and the darkness didn't do much to calm his nerves. The only thing one could really see in here were the walls covered in all different shades of red, and the people sitting in front of them or dancing to the deafening music in the middle of the room.

"Like it, Ha-kun?", Shigure shouted in his ear and he growled. "Good. Because I think A-Ya does." And indeed, the white-haired man had a look of amazement on his face, eyes drifting from left to right, up and down, seemingly taking in every detail of the room. Hatori felt a twinge of unease at this sight, but knew that it would be highly suspicious to drag his friends outside just like this.

Ayame moved towards the bar in an all too dazed manner and Hatori dashed after him, walking there at his side. Shigure closed up, too, so that they sat down together as the barman turned his attention towards them.

"Aren't you a bit young to be here this late?", he asked and, although he would have been glad to just nod and leave right away, Hatori, along with the others, pulled out his ID, showing the man that he indeed was 21 now, thus allowed to drink alcohol. "Is that so? Very well, then. What can I get you three?"

"You decide, A-Ya", Hatori murmured and glanced across the room, not caring to cover his unease. His friend ordered something he had never even heard of, and when his eyes found the table again, he frowned upon the silky liquid served in a tall glass. Maybe it was supposed to be white, but it looked red in this particular light. A dark blue paper umbrella decorated it, and – Hatori's eyes narrowed – printed onto it was an even smaller, white dragon. He could feel Shigure's grin bore into is side, but resisted the urge to turn to him and bash in his stupid face.

"Sooo", the dog-man whispered in his ear. "On A-Ya?"

"Of course." Taking hold of the glass, Hatori finally managed to smile at the man beside him, afterwards sending one more honest smile to the reason of their trip out here. Ayame blushed slightly and took his own drink, avoiding to look at Hatori.

"On you, A-Ya!", Shigure shouted over the noise of the room, sending everybody inside quiet for a minute.

"Yeah, on me!" They both downed their drinks – Hatori only nipped at his – and shared cheerful laughter as the rhythmic beats of the music were filled with people's talking again.

Ayame and Shigure stood and the latter turned around towards Hatori. "Well, hurry up and get done, Ha-kun!", he urged him and Hatori knew that trying to resist was of no use. He, too, emptied his glass and then followed his friends to the dance floor.

-.-.-.-.-

Ayame led the way holding Shigure and Hatori by their hands. The loud, beating music hammered in his ears, half deafening him to every other sound. Lucky, he thought, that you never needed to do much to convince a Sôma to dance. It ran in their blood, having become one of the most natural things to do in centuries of performing a dance at every New Year's banquet.

Moving softly to the tune, he stopped in the middle of the room. Was dancing good when you wanted someone to get drunk? He wasn't sure, but… Oh, well, first thing on this birthday was fun, anyway, even if his little plan didn't work.

He held his hands out wide, his friends smiling at the gesture. The crowd around them moved swiftly, but here and there someone watched them as they danced. It was him and Shigure, though, who did the main part, while Hatori soon parted to a side of the room. Ayame send uneasy glances over at him, but ever time he was rewarded with Hatori's rather protective gaze.

Shigure closed up to him, moving carefully. "We should get off the dance floor, now. It's getting too crowded with girls", he whispered and Ayame cast a look around himself, nodding in approval. They stopped and cautiously made their way back to their friend.

"Done, are you?", Hatori asked and looked up at them, as they approached him.

"Yes", Ayame whispered, slightly out of breath, as he sat down at the ground next to him. "Why did you leave so soon? Ain't it boring out here, all alone?"

"Not in the least", the blunt answer was, but by the slight tilt of this head and the soft look in his eyes, Ayame could tell that Hatori wasn't annoyed, which satisfied him.

" I think I'll get us something to drink now", Shigure announced, skipping off and leaving the two of them alone.

"So…", Ayame said. "Um…" He watched the room, his eyes darting from Hatori to the dancing girls, to those sitting next to the dance floor, to Hatori, who didn't pay attention to him at all, but instead stared towards the bar. Ayame followed his look, but couldn't find anything worth interest.

"Care to tell me what exactly you're up to?"

"Ah!" All of a sudden, his friend's eyes were on him. "Nothing! What would you think we could be up to?"

"I don't know; That's why I'm asking you, Ayame", Hatori answered in slight irritation.

"Uh…" Ayame looked away and his heart jumped with joy as he saw his other best friend approaching them. How in kami-sama's name could he have gotten out of this stupid situation alone? "Gure-kun? Tori-kun scares me!", he cried and clung to Shigure, who handed them their drinks.

"Is that true? My, my, Ha-kun, you are such a mean person." Shigure chided him with a disappointed look. "Try to be more sociable, won't you?"

Awaiting an outburst of coldness, Ayame bent aside, but was indeed surprised when Hatori only looked up from between his bangs and in an indifferent voice replied: "Sure." Ayame shivered.

"You know what?", Shigure tried to save the situation, "You should drink more; You're way to tense."

Hatori's eyes flashed dangerously, but instead of voicing his thoughts on that matter, he merely held Shigure's eyes and downed his glass in one gulp.

-.-.-.-.-

The oldest boy shivered at the unknown taste of his drink, but kept a straight face. Shigure nodded at him approvingly.

"I won't get you another one just now, though. Do you know how crowded it is over there? Girls everywhere, that's dreadful!" He made a face as he dropped down next to Ayame on the other side. "Go, try it, A-Ya!"

Hatori wasn't sure he wanted this to happen, and was thankful when the man to his side did no such thing as going over there. Ayame sipped at his drink and Hatori turned back to watching the crowd. He really didn't understand why he was here, anymore.

Beside him, Shigure often enough went off to fetch some more alcohol and he accepted every new glass, although after at most the third his sight became rather strange and when they reached the fifth, he dreaded the moment that he had to stand up. It was no use. Bracing himself against the wall behind him, he pushed himself up and waited for the room to come to a halt. His friends weren't paying any interest to him, so he went unquestioned.

Luckily, the restroom was empty, as most of the crowd had already decided to go home, and there was no one in front of whom he could make a fool of himself. Unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers, he forced himself to attention and actually managed the difficult task.

Returning to the main room, the first thing he noticed about his friends was, that there was only one left. Coming to a halt in front of Ayame, he asked for the other one.

The white haired boy looked up at him. "Gone", he simply answered and grabbed Hatori's belt. Hatori grunted when he pulled himself up and hen whispered words in his face. "Would you dance with me?"

The spiky smell of alcohol filled his mind as he accepted the offered hand. "But of course." He led Ayame towards the dance floor through the reeling room and allowed him to lay his arms around him. He hardly noticed the looks of the leftovers of the party, before the dance rushed to his head, mixed with the alcohol and send him even further away from reality than he already was, into a world filled with the smell of their drinks, the warmth of their bodies, the music's rhythm and the dizzying movements of their dancing.

Ayame was doing something to the hair in his neck, combing through it. Why was it that he couldn't bring himself to being irritated at it?

Finally, though, he let go and just fell around Hatori's neck, having him stumbling back due to his drunken state. He caught them both and dragged Ayame back to a side of the bar, where he gratefully sat down on one of the bar stools. His friend, seemingly suffering from a laughing fit, sat down in his lap and leaned in against him.

-.-.-.-.-

Ayame hugged his friend, still trembling from the laughter that suddenly had come over him. Now was the right time to do what he had planned. He rested against Hatori's shoulder in a casual way and lifted his hand, combed through the short, silky bangs and stroked the soft cheek. Hatori let him do everything he wanted, eyes closed and a relaxed expression on his face. Gathering all his courage, Ayame kissed him on the lips.

Had he thought that the reaction would be immediate, he was mistaken, for at first nothing happened and when Hatori finally opened his eyes, it was in a drowsy manner. Unsure of himself, Ayame backed off a bit, but to his utter surprise, Hatori made no sign of rejecting him; He merely held his eyes. Breathing fearfully, Ayame closed in again and was accepted. His heart skipped a beat when Hatori closed his eyes and parted his lips. The bliss wouldn't last long.

"Do that elsewhere, kids!", a voice, harsh and _loud_, resounded in his ears and Hatori retreated.

"We should be leaving, Ayame", he said, standing up, and Ayame saw him flushing a bright red as he walked away.


	3. The National Writer's Award

Author: Akino K

Title: Holidays – The National Writer's Award

Disclaimer: You all know it by heart: Fruits Basket is by Natsuki Takaya. I'm merely playing.

Summary: The trio is visiting Kyoto, where the ceremony of the National Writer's Award takes place. It seems that a young romance author's won something.

Warnings: very slight shonen-ai

Pairings: still none, but we're getting closer… (Ayame + Hatori)

Note: Sorry.

Also, I didn't want to write some great descriptive scenes for this chapter, simply because I know I'm lousy at it, and it would have taken even longer to finish, had I forced myself to do it, anyway.

However, I suggest that you look up "Kiyomizu-dera" on Wikipedia, to get an idea of the temple (and to understand why I choose it for this chapter's setting – it's incredible)!

By the way, Hatori is right, of course: The temple's gate is called "Nîo-mon", but it is commonly known as "Aka-mon", meaning "Red Gate". Guess why.

* * *

Holidays – The National Writer's Award

"Oh, Gure-san, Tori-san! Look at this!"

Hatori stopped dead in his tracks, trying not to bump into Ayame, who stood rooted to the spot. He felt his brow twitch and a frown creep onto his face, when he cleared his throat to signal his friend that he was in their way. Ayame turned around at that, facing him. "No, I mean it: I can see the Aka-mon from here!" He was visibly quivering with excitement.

"The Nîo-mon, Ayame", Hatori automatically corrected him. "Its name is Nîo-mon. And although I have to agree with you on the fact that it indeed is a beautiful sight, as we can all clearly see, I have to ask you to move on, for I would very much like to actually get there, you know?"

Ayame stared at him wordlessly, for a moment, before a smile lit up his features. "Of course, Tori-san." He beamed up at Hatori and bounced off.

When the young man was out of ear-shot, Hatori let out an exhausted sigh. Shigure next to him did the same thing, and a sideways glance showed him a soft smile in his direction.

"Well, look at the bright sight of it all. It's autumn, so at least you can be relieved that he won't be transforming. He'll be careful enough, and no one's going to notice anything." Shigure shrugged his shoulders, smiling sympathetically. "Everything's alright."

Hatori returned the smile briefly, before following Ayame, who had run ahead and was now waiting for them further up the road, looking through the goods of the shops, most likely some of the ceramics this place was famous for, occasionally looking up to search for his friends' faces amongst those of hundreds of strangers.

Catching up to him, Hatori tried to remember exactly how they had ended up here, of all places.

It had been one and a half months before, on a rather average Wednesday. Noon was drawing to an end; he had been run out of paper work and just sitting around in his room, trying to pass the time doing nothing – a feat he had never managed. In retrospect, he should have known that the peace would not last for long. It never did.

A phone call had torn him out of his reverie, while he had been doodling about with his new pen, and at that time, he had actually appreciated the change. It had been Shigure.

Usually, phone calls from his cousin were something Hatori tried to avoid, and even more so when the stupidly energetic young man was obviously thrilled about something. He still had to learn, he thought, how to pretend being up to his neck in work. It was a technique essential to leading a sensible life.

Shigure had screamed, cried and – _oh, why him?_ – whooped the message at him: He had won something.

"That's said to happen, from time to time", Hatori had interrupted him. "So what could it be that you get so crazy about?" There was a short silence, presumably to heighten the suspense, but then Shigure could not keep it to himself any longer.

"The Jinkan National Award of Literature! I've won the Newcomer Award!"

That would have been the last possible moment of retreat, but he had not realised the seriousness of the situation. Instead of telling his friend to sober up and stop calling innocent people, he had asked, in what had obviously been a thrilled voice, if that were true.

"Of course it is, Ha-san. I got notification, just today. Aya already knows, too. Ha-san, would you like to come with us to the ceremony?"

"With _us_?" he had asked, not processing the question any further, yet.

"Aya and me, obviously. Listen, the ceremony is held in Kyoto, in six weeks. You'll come with us, right? We'll just have to ask Akito for permission, but he certainly will agree. He knows at least how much money that will get us, and he wouldn't want me to go alone."

Actually, Hatori now thought, that should have caught his attention. Shigure wouldn't have been alone, as long as Ayame went with him, and the man certainly knew that Akito wouldn't bother about Aya's whereabouts. Despite his pretty good knowledge of their god's mind's working, Hatori had not noticed, back then.

"I'll – see what I can do about it..."

That had been about it. Eight words that had been enough to doom him. Two days in Kyoto, in the presence of two utter idiots, plus having to come to an award ceremony. How often had he cursed himself, since that day?

* * *

One day in Kyôto had already passed by with a surprising lack of general doom involved. Hatori suspected that fate was going to pay him back for it, but right now he was content with hoping that it might take some more time. Maybe when they came back home...

He didn't really have the time to let his mind concentrate on such pointless things; the street they were walking up to reach Kiyomizu-dera, "Sannen-Zaka" or the "Teapot Lane" as it was known as, was crowded with people and he was not feeling well at all here. The image of Ayame running around wildly and barely aware of all the girls – he was skipping, for heaven's sake, so there was no possible way he could be aware – had burned itself so deep in his mind that he was afraid he would never get it out, again.

A shame his father wasn't still alive, or he could have asked to be relieved of the memory and the mental pain it brought along.

He was torn viciously out of his self pity by Ayame, who was calling them over, waving his hands through the air to make sure to get their attention, as it was such a hard accomplishment for his booming voice alone. Shigure grabbed Hatori by the elbow and led him over, a cheerful smile on his face, although Hatori was fairly sure that he mostly aimed for silence with his actions. There were times when Ayame's temperament graded on even _his_ nerves, Hatori was sure.

On the other hand, it was not as if Ayame minded this in the least.

"Oh, Tori-san! Gure-san! Look at these! Aren't they just incredibly cute?" He was practically squealing with delight at showing his friends what he had found in one of the stores. It was a set of the jûnishi, of course, Hatori thought, almost chiding himself that he had failed to foresee this event happening. They were in Kyôto, after all, so he should have expected to stumble upon such figures, and naturally, Ayame was going to find the epitome of cuteness.

What he found so great about them, Hatori didn't know, but it had to be there – despite the fact that the jûnishi's spirits cursed them.

Hatori rolled his eyes at Ayame and looked down on the set of clay figures, anyway. There was something about them, alright. Not "cute", maybe, but he had definitely seen worse tries, before. Ayame, meanwhile, was praising them to the shop assistant, who seemed quite surprised, but pleased nonetheless. Certainly most of the time, she was trying hard to make the people see what Ayame was currently describing to her in bright mental colours.

"Well, they are quite nice, don't you think, Ha-san?" Shigure asked him from the side, and he looked over. "Really, don't frown like that, it's not becoming on you. What I'm saying is, if he wants them...?"

Yes, that was right, after all. Ayame would hardly make such a show about something he didn't want to buy. Hatori looked down, again. 7.500 Yen, huh? Well, that wasn't cheap, but it didn't cost the earth, either. He was fairly sure that Akito would think it reasonable, if not charming, and it most certainly would shut Ayame up, which was usually all too hard to accomplish. Sighing, he reached for his wallet.

"Ayame!" The young man turned around, eyes shining bright. "Stop pestering the good lady! Come over here!"

Ayame blinked in surprise at the command, but nodded and skipped over, nonetheless. "Tori-san wants something?" he asked lightly, beaming up at him. The shop assistant was staring at them, poorly trying to conceal it by glancing over the goods on display.

"Would you like this, Ayame?" Hatori asked, having decided to be plain with his friend on every opportunity. Ayame's face lit up even more, if that was humanly possible. He nodded fervently.

"Oh, please, Tori-san, I'd love it!" he squealed, almost surprising Hatori by not jumping up and down like a puppy gone mad.

"Fine, then." Hatori looked back around at Shigure, who nodded at him, faintly smiling, before he got back to eyeing the goods displayed in the shop, obviously _so_ short before humming that Hatori had to fight hard to keep from simply flinging one of the figures his way.

* * *

"Now, _that's_ what I call high." Shigure whistled approvingly, leaning way too far over the rail of the temple's terrace. "No wonder they say that if you survive the jump, your every wish will be fulfilled."

"Seeing as your main wish will most likely be a fast transport to the nearest hospital..." Hatori murmured, off to Ayame's other side. The younger man turned around to his friend, who was also looking out over the hillside before them and the woods that adjoined to it. One could make out the road they had taken up to Kiyomizu-dera, and in the distance the silhouette of Kyôto could be spotted. But while Hatori was admiring the landscape, _he_, at least, did not seem to want to become a part of it.

"Ah, honestly! Hatori, where is the fun in your realism?" Shigure sighed, but stepped back from the rail, before his cousin would reach over and pull him away. "I'm just joking, you know that." The look he got for that was something fairly close to what Ayame would have considered rude, had it not come from perfect Hatori. "Anyway, why don't we just go and look for the Jishu-Jinja-shrine? You know that's why we came here, Ha-san." Shigure added some more sweetness to his voice than usual.

"Not like you could have missed it..." Ayame smiled, but kept his eyes trained on Hatori, who groaned softly at their cousin's antics.

"Not that I'd have been _allowed_ to miss it", Hatori answered, but gave in. His resolve was vanishing quickly, and Ayame could not have been bothered to check into the reasons, seeing as he just got what he wanted this way, and faster than with actual persuasion.

Hatori stepped back from the rail, casting a quick glance over the masses of people crowding the temple's yard. He looked to be stealing himself for what was to come.

"Just be careful, then it should be alright. Especially _you_, Shigure!" He looked around at the young man with barely held-back distrust. "No 'high-school-girls' ecstasy, understood?"

"Certainly, Ha-san", Shigure answered in a voice so cheerful that even Ayame could not pretend that he had been listening to a word Hatori had said.

* * *

The shrine was a sight, Hatori would not argue about that, but it did not change his reluctance to visit it. Too late, he knew, but there had to be something to keep him distracted from the dangerously non-existent space between the two young men – who incidentally behaved like five year olds in this crowd – and the mass of school girls who were squealing and at times shrieking at one another over the tumult at the oracle.

Really, it was all so very childish, when you thought about it: Walk the eighteen meters from one "love stone" to the other with your eyes closed, and if you made it, you would find your perfect match. If life were that simple, there would be few things to worry about…

Almost against his own will, Hatori strolled over to the least crowded place of the small hill, from where he had a slight chance to watch over his cousins. Shigure had allowed the school girls to cheer him into doing the closed-eyed walk, and they were now holding their breaths, letting the suspense grow. Here and there, muffled shrieks of excitement could be heard.

Hatori's interest faded quickly, seeing as Shigure was being deliberately slow and careful in his movements, miming feeling for the way to the second stone, the girls watching him with rapt attention.

Most eyes, it seemed, had by now turned to the spectacle of that comparably old man doing the challenge. As he looked around, most people were watching Shigure and didn't pay attention to anything else. To his surprise, Ayame was not one of them; his young cousin was glancing around at the surrounding crowd, but his movements were too fast for him to merely be watching the girls like Hatori did. He seemed to look for something or someone, and Hatori could not think of much that would draw the young man's attention so completely. He stepped closer, just in case it was really him that his friend was looking for. "Ayame?"

The young man whirled around, his coat flying in the wake of the sudden movement. "Ah, there you are! I've been looking for you", Ayame admitted, his face alight, but slightly flushed at the same time. "Wondered where you –"

The combined cheer of nearly one hundred school girls interrupted him, and they jerked around. Apparently, Shigure had managed the task.

The girls squeaked and parted where he stepped towards them, opening a walkway towards his friends. Shigure, grinning broadly, gestured in their direction to join him.

Hatori guessed on what was expected of them, should they dare to step closer, so he crossed his arms in front of his chest to underline his resistance. To his surprise, Ayame didn't move either. Instead, he stood there, looking quite uncomfortable indeed. The girls looked at them expectantly, some even winking as if to signal that they would help them find the right way if they couldn't do it on their own.

"Come on, Aya! Surely you could need some good luck, as well!" Shigure called over their heads and they giggled at his words. Sighing, Hatori nudged him in the back, softly shoving him in the direction of the stones. That seemed to pull him from his trance, as he turned around, blinking, and – at Hatori's slight nod – hurried over to the starting stone. "That's it! You know the rules; make you way over to the other stone, eyes closed. Or, if you must, rely on these helpful callers guiding you." Shigure grinned and the giggling level amongst the girls rose anew.

Now that he was at it, Ayame seemed the picture of self-confidence, and as he got ready, it became quiet again.

In the total silence of the shrine, Ayame stepped from start to finish without hesitation, stopping only for a moment to bend down and touch the second stone, before he stood again and opened his eyes to the admiring crowd. It took them a moment to realise that it was already over, but once they got it, they started the next cheering. This time, once it died down, they turned around to glance at Hatori, before looking back at Shigure and Ayame.

Even his cousin looked fairly expectant, but it was covered very fast by him raising his hands in a defiant way. "Understood. I'm not even thinking about asking you to do it, Ha-san."

Around him, the girls sighed in disappointment, but quickly recovered at Ayame's wide grin, as both he and Shigure strode over to Hatori, welcomed by a cool glance and a hinted bow.

"Come on, prize-winning author, we're getting late for the ceremony."

"Ah, right!" Now, at last, Shigure was paying attention. "I almost forgot about _that_. Come on, let's hurry, we still have to change. We need to get back to the hotel!" This time it was him who led the way, back to the parking lot, calling for the arranged taxi to meet them there in ten minutes.

* * *

The party had been pretty much rushing past Shigure in a flurry. Despite his appearance, all calm and cool and slightly surprised _at most_, he was quite anxious about the whole situation. The laudation as well as the proud approval and clapping of the ceremony attendees was muffled, strangely enough, and he felt slightly off and detached until it was all over. The statue he had been given made it all slightly more real, but the atmosphere made it hard to understand.

In the end, he was brought to reality by Ayame clapping him on the back, once they had left the house and had made it down a few streets.

"Time to wake up, I'd say" Ayame told him, nearly pushing him along the street. "We're out of there, so you might as well get on with pestering us about that prize you've gotten. Anyway, let me see the thing!"

He felt the statue being tugged out of his unrelenting hands, to be inspected by a frowning Ayame. After a moment of silence, Shigure inquired, "Well, what about it?"

"It's a _book_." Ayame sounded almost reproachful. "A golden _book_, out of all things."

"Well, what exactly did you expect? It's a prize for writing. I'd say a book is quite a sensible choice." He reached for the trophy, but Ayame stepped out of his reach, eyeing the thing critically.

"It's not really the epitome of originality, you know? Not what I'd expect from a group of people that make their living by being creative. Something like a ink brush, alright. I'd get that. Even a pen, although that's kind of borderline and probably open for discussion. The muses or some antique European god of creativity. What do I know; I'm not a writer, nor any kind of artist. But it should be something more intelligent and thoughtful!"

Shigure blinked dazedly at Ayame's fired-up speech, surprised – for real, this time – at the sudden energy in his cousin's words. There weren't many subjects he'd get so worked up about, and Shigure decided to view it as an honour that this time it was for the reason that he felt that his friend had not been treated correctly.

"Very enlightening, Ayame, that's for sure." He almost winced at Hatori's words, having nearly forgotten the third member of their trio, up until now. Ayame's cheeks flushed quite alarmingly, but Shigure was not sure whether or not that was something to be worried about. "I'd say we still need to celebrate your won award, though. That's what we're here for, isn't it?"

He turned towards his older cousin, nodding. "I was actually just about to tell you that we're here. It's this one, right in front of us." Shigure gestured to the restaurant they were standing in front of.

Hatori glanced up at the building and by the look of it, made a rough calculation of how much they'd spend in it. The sum did obviously not meet his approval.

"No getting away, Ha-san", Shigure laughed, punching him softly in the shoulder. "It's been agreed on with Akito how much we are allowed to spend, and I'm willing to go to the limits. Let's get in there!"

He turned without waiting for an answer, and opened the door. Behind him, he could hear Ayame running over and Hatori shuffling along in the rear. He grinned; not even the ever serious doctor would mar his day by not doing as he wished – this was truly nearly perfect!

* * *

Hatori was quite comfortable by now; he was full and warm, not to mention slightly inebriated, and the mixture of all these fine components led to a fairly relaxing point at which it was hard even for him to constantly worry about Shigure and Ayame. It might have been their intention, seeing as both of his cousins quite frequently used to make use of his liking for alcohol, but at the moment, even that was beyond his care.

Ayame had almost fallen asleep on his shoulder, while Hatori and Shigure still kept up their conversation with the ladies they shared the table with. Those two had also surrender to sake and long drinks and were indeed telling quite openly about their lives as art students at one of Kyôto's universities. They had shown interest in their specific carriers, as well, mostly Shigure's, of course. The young, handsome romance novel author, Hatori understood, was a tad more interesting than a brooding doctor.

Just when their conversation had been reduced to mere shreds of talking, Hatori could not tell, but now, Ayame's reassuring weight on his shoulder, he realised that they were hardly talking anymore, but only sipping their drinks, if anything at all. Finally, he was also growing tired of it all.

"Shigure", he murmured, gently tugging on his friend's shirt sleeve. The author turned, humming softly, a dreamy look upon his features. "We should be leaving. It's about time, the bus will get us tomorrow. Hell, today, for all I know..."

Shigure nodded, eyes half-closed, and looked so close to sleep, that Hatori had to fight down the urge to shake him awake. "_Shigure_!"

"Ri-ight..." the man drawled, turning away. "I'm sorry, ladies. My dear friend here seems to believe we must leave you behind, now. I assure you, however, that your company will be dearly missed." The girls giggled softly at his words, but nodded nonetheless. "Do you want to leave now, as well? I'd love to pay for you."

* * *

Ayame moaned softly at the strange sensation of being half-carried along the way. His arm was slung around Hatori's shoulders, holding tight to him. He felt himself swaying dangerously.

"Awake again?" He hummed his agreement. "Good. At least one of us is, then."

"Tori-san? Where is Gure-kun?" He realised they were alone on the stairway to their hotel room.

"He already went ahead. We'll at least have the bathroom to ourselves, this way."

"Ah..." The prospect of sharing the bath with Hatori would have been more enticing had he been in a sensible state of mind, but as it were, Ayame mostly only registered it with a distant part of his brain. "Good then..."

* * *

Fate really should have some better things to do, Hatori thought, than to simply unnerve him, but then again, he had been expecting it, after all. Honestly, why would Shigure choose the couch for himself to fall asleep on and leave the only bed for him and Ayame to occupy? It seemed almost too coincidental.

In the end, he lay Ayame down and pulled the covers up over the slender figure, part of him praying that he had _not_ just admired his cousin's body. It was, indeed, the same part that wanted to freak out when the younger man cracked one eye open and lifted the cover, begging Hatori to join him in bed. He complied, but only with a sigh.

He still remembered that evening from years ago, although he pretended not to. As Ayame's hands crept over his body, he pretended to not notice them either. It was a friendly embrace, usual for his overly emotional cousin.

The lips on his neck were harder to ignore, as they whispered "Good night", but thankfully, Ayame did drift off to sleep right after that, sparing himself some nasty explanations.


End file.
